Morning Edition on WAMC

Former Prime Minister Geir Haarde was the first leader to be put on trial for his role in the global financial crisis. Renee Montagne talks to Michael Stothard, a correspondent for the Financial Times, about Haarde being found guilty of negligence for his handling of the financial crisis. He was cleared of three other charges.

Victoria Beckham has teamed up with Range Rover to produce a special edition Evoque luxury SUV. The former Spice Girl, married to soccer star David Beckham, has designed fashion lines before, but says this is her first foray into automobiles.

Wal-Mart could face significant legal liability following a report accusing the company of systematic bribery in Mexico. A report in The New York Times claims Wal-Mart officials in Mexico paid more than $20 million in bribes to help the company open more stores there. The story also says top Wal-Mart executives in the U.S. looked the other way. The company's stock price fell nearly 5 percent Monday.

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son James are to appear this week before a panel investigating the practices, culture and ethics of British press. The Murdochs are expected to be asked about the extent of their knowledge of phone hacking by their newspapers.

Vermont is embroiled in a debate over ending the philosophical exemption that allows parents to have their kids skip childhood immunizations required for attending school.  WAMC's Tristan O'Neill reports...

The state Senate voted 25-4 recently to end the exemption, while the House has voted 93-36 to preserve it.

Vermont is among the highest states in the number of parents who exempt their children from immunizations. State health officials say Vermont had 102 pertussis cases between January and the first week of April, more than were reported in the state all last year.

NYS police are on the lookout for drivers illegally using cell phones and other electronic devices.

"Operation Hang Up" starts Monday and runs through next Sunday.

The first "Operation Hang Up" campaign took place over last year's Thanksgiving holiday. Troopers ticketed more than 800 drivers.

The enforcement campaign is funded through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Massachusetts House lawmakers are scheduled to begin debate on a nearly $32.3 billion state budget plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Lawmakers will begin working their way through 870 proposed amendments to the spending plan on Monday.

The budget unveiled earlier this month by the House Ways and Means Committee relies on $522 million in one-time revenues, including a $400 million withdrawal from the state's so-called Rainy Day fund.

It calls for spending $14 million less than the budget proposed in January by Governor Deval Patrick.

Legislative leaders say Vermont lawmakers won't be going home for the year this coming Friday, as they originally had hoped.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

But they're still technically ahead of schedule. The Legislature budgeted for 18 weeks this year, and this coming week will be their 16th in session.

House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell say lawmakers should plan on being in session through the first week in May, possibly including Saturday the 5th.

Misaki Murakami and his family lost everything in last year's tsunami in Japan. Waves carried his soccer ball — covered in notes from third grade friends — to a beach in Alaska. The ball is being returned.

Forecasters say some trees and power lines could be dragged down by heavy, wet snow expected to pile up as much as a foot deep in parts of western New York by Tuesday morning.

Shawn Smith of the National Weather Service in Buffalo says a storm moving up the East Coast will bring snow to western New York throughout the day Monday. By the time it peters out Tuesday, there may be 7 to 14 inches of snow in higher elevations of western New York, 5 to 9 inches in Buffalo, and 3 to 5 inches in Rochester.